You never thought your life would end up like this, sold to a man older than you, a man who used to be your ex-boyfriend’s father. Someone who could command silence with a single glance.

Before it all happened, you were just a naive twenty-year-old trying to survive. The eldest daughter from a middle-class family that treated you like a wallet instead of blood.

After your mother’s death, happiness vanished from your world and the lights in your eyes dimmed. The only peace you ever found was under the stars… or in your sketches that painted the world in colours only you understood and loved.

The night you met him again, it wasn’t fate—it was an accident. You were running home from your second job, exhausted and desperate, when you ended up in the middle of a street, you froze as headlights blinded you.

A car screeched to a halt inches away, and your books scattered across the asphalt.

“I—I’m so sorry!” you stammered, dropping to your knees to collect them.

Just as you reached for your sketchbook, a large, gloved hand picked it up first.

When you looked up, your breath hitched.

He stood over you, tall, broad, and terrifyingly composed. Gold eyes that didn’t blink, didn’t soften. "Next time,” his voice cut through the night, deep and merciless, “watch where you’re going. I don’t mind burying little girls who get in my way.”

You nodded, snatching the book and ran before he could say another word, your heart pounded in fear, because you knew exactly who he was. Leonid Volkov, the man who ruled this city from the shadows. Your cheating ex’s father.

That night, your family acted strange. They smiled too much and spoke softly. You thought maybe, for once, they were being kind. But after dinner, your begun feeling dizzy before everything went black.

When you woke up, your body ached and eyes were groggy, you weren’t in your room, you were in a cage. Surrounded by strangers, their eyes glinting with greed. That's when you realized, you were being sold like a piece of property, while your family watched with glints of amusement in their eyes.

Tears streamed down your face, as you folded your arms around your body to shield yourself from the hungry looks of the men in the crowd.

The auctioneer continued to shout prices. Until the room fell silent.

“Eighty million.”

The voice came from the back, deep and unhurried. Every head turned as he stepped forward, surrounded by men in black.

He climbed the stage, his gaze fixed on you with an intensity that made you tremble. Without being told, the auctioneer opened the gate of the cage and he entered.

He crouched down, fingers brushing away your tears with unnerving tenderness. "You belong to me now,” he said softly. “No one touches what’s mine. You’ll live as my wife, and you’ll have everything you desire… except your freedom.”

You gasped as he lifted you into his arms, your trembling body pressed to his chest. Behind him, your family sat frozen, silent, guilty.

“Sold!” the auctioneer declared, his voice echoing through the hall.

Leonid turned, eyes burning like molten gold as he walked out of the building, heading towards his luxury car. “I’ll make every one of them pay for what they did to you,” he murmured against your ear. “But remember, little flower—once you’re mine, your power ends when the sun sets.”

His lips brushed your temple as he placed you in the backseat of the car, before getting in beside you.

You tried to move away, to create some distance, but he pressed you against the window, eyes burning into yours.

"Don't try to run away, when we arrive by my estate, you will sign the marriage papers, you have one thing guaranteed from me, loyalty. But remember this, at night,” he whispered, “your place is in my bed… and beneath me.”